SIZE & COLOR

Size:

Preferred height for Australian Shepherds is 18-23". More information regarding height and breed standard can be found on AKC's website at www.akc.org or on the Australian Shepherd Club of America's website at www.asca.org

WE DO NOT RAISE TOY's OR MINI'S. Toy's and Mini's are NOT a breed recognized by AKC or ASCA. This information is CLEARLY posted on both of their websites . NO Miniature Australian Shepherd breed is listed on AKC's website because mini's are NOT a breed! If you purchase(d) a dog labeled as a Miniature Australian Shepherd by his/her breeder you have been fooled. Look on your AKC registration paperwork under Breed listed at the very top of your Dog Registraion Application: It says Australian Shepherd NOT Miniature Australian Shepherd. I do not know why breeders are doing their Aussies such an injustice by labeling them as mini's or toys. ASCA's website clearly states they do not recognize ANY breed labeled as anything other than AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD and WILL NOT REGISTER THEM. . AND be aware that if any person who owns a dog on your dogs ASCA paperwork decides to stop calling his/her Australian Shepherd an Australian Shepherd & start calling him/her a mini and/or register their dog as a mini ASCA will not only revoke that dogs paperwork but will revoke EVERY dogs paperwork on down the line .... ALL SUBSEQUENT PROGENY's paperwork will be revoked is what ASCA's letter states.

We do not raise or breed toy's or mini's. They do not possess the same attributes an Australian Shepherd has and should not be considered an Australian Shepherd. Most are not even purebred and do not represent an Australian Shepherd. Australian Shepherds have always been 18-23" in height. For this to be possible, they have had smaller toy breeds bred into them to reduce height. Most toy's and mini's have bug eyes, prick ears, and stringy hair. These are NOT purebred Australian Shepherds & should not be referred to as Australian Shepherds. Do your research and take the time to educate yourself on this subject BEFORE making a purchase.Anyone can label any animal with a name. That doesn't make it correct.

Colors:

There are 4 acceptable colors in the Australian Shepherd breed. Blue Merle, Black, Red Merle, and Red all with or without white and/or copper trim. Breeding merle to merle is unacceptable as each puppy has a chance of being born blind and deaf as a result. Breeding tri to tri produces all tri's therefore, the preferred color crosses are blue merle to black tri, blue merle to red tri, red merle to black tri, and red merle to red tri.

In addition, red to red yields all reds so breeding a red merle to a red tri produces ONLY red merle & red tri puppies. And since tri to tri yields all tri's, breeding red tri to red tri yields all red tri's. To produce red puppies, either red tri or red merle, BOTH parents must be red factored, not red in color, but one that carries a red gene.

In a breeding where one parent is red, such as blue merle to red tri or red merle to black tri, typically there are more red's in the litter.

In a breeding where one parent is NOT red factored, the litter will only produce blue merle and black tri as, again, BOTH parents must be red factored to produce red puppies. For instance breeding a blue merle that is not red factored to a black tri that is red factored will yield only blue merle and black tri. Also breeding a blue merle that is not red factored to a red tri or breeding a red merle to a black tri that is not red factored will only produce blue merle and black tri ... no red's.

Furthermore, any puppy that has a red parent IS red factored as a red gene is all a red parent has to offer so even in litters where there are no red puppies, if one parent is red in color, ALL the puppies in the litter are red factored meaning they can produce red puppies when bred to a red or red factored mate. Puppies from a blue merle/black tri cross where one or both parents are red factored have a 50/50 chance of being red factored.

Here’s how red factoring works:

Blue merle and black tri’s that are NOT red factored carry a black/black gene receiving a black gene from each parent.

Blue merle and black tri’s that ARE red factored carry a black/red gene receiving a black gene from one parent and a red gene from the other parent.

Red merle and red tri’s carry a red/red gene and ARE red factored. Because a red dog is a red/red and a red gene is all a red parent has to offer his or her puppies so any puppy with a red parent IS red factored.

Blue merle and black tri puppies with a red factored blue merle parent AND a red factored black tri parent have a 50/50 chance of receiving the red gene from only one parent. Puppies in the litter who receive the red gene from BOTH of their parents in this color cross are in fact red in color because red dogs carry a red/red gene so the red puppies in the litter received a red gene from BOTH parents.

Blue merle and black tri puppies from a red factored blue merle (black/red) and NON red factored black tri (black/black), or red factored black tri ( black/red) and non red factored blue merle (black/black), still have a 50/50 chance of receiving a red gene from the red factored parent but will receive a black gene from the non red factored parent making the puppy either black/black (NOT red factored) or black/red (red factored) on the gene scale. If the blue merle or black tri puppy is black/black, receiving the black gene from both parents, he/she is NOT red factored. If the blue merle or black tri puppy is black/red he/she received the red gene from one parent and IS red factored and can produce red puppies when bred to a red or red factored mate.

Copper trim is recessive. In a breeding where one parent has copper trim and one parent does not have copper trim, some puppies will have copper trim and some will not. In a breeding where both parents have copper trim ALL the puppies in the litter will have copper trim. In a breeding where neither parent has copper trim, none of the puppies will have copper trim. A black & white puppy with no copper trim is a black bi. A red and white puppy with no copper trim is a red bi.

The gene's from merle to merle crosses can be explained in much the same way as being red factored. A merle colored dog, whether red merle or blue merle, has two genes, one merle gene and one tri gene or merle/tri, and WILL offer one gene to each puppy. A tri colored dog has two tri genes or tri/tri and WILL offer each puppy one gene. When breeding a merle to a tri the puppies that get a merle gene from the merle parent and tri gene from the tri parent are merle in color. The puppies that get a tri gene from the merle parent and a tri gene from the tri parent are tri colored. When breeding two tri's together the result is all tri's because both parents are tri/tri on the gene scale and only have tri genes to offer making all of the puppies tri's. The biggest myth is to breed two merle's together to get all merle's. If it were that easy everyone would do it. Again, the merle's are a merle/tri on the gene scale so when you breed merle to merle the puppies that get a merle gene from one parent and a tri gene from another parent are merle in color and merle/tri on the gene scale. Those puppies have no health issues. The puppies that get a tri gene from both merle parents are tri in color and are a tri/tri on the gene scale with no health issues. The puppies that get a merle gene from both merle parents are the merle puppies that are born blind and deaf and are usually white in color. So, again, the preferred breeding in Australian Shepherds is merle to tri to eliminate the possibility of having puppies born blind and deaf.

Blue Eyes:

We do NOT place puppies based on eye color because we cannot control Mother Nature. Be aware that eye color can change in the Australian Shepherd breed at any time during the dog’s life so just because a puppy goes home with you at age 6 or 8 weeks with blue eyes does not mean they will not turn green or brown, or one of each, the following week or at some point during the dog’s life. I want my buyers to choose MY puppies because they feel my puppy is a good fit for their family and that I am a responsible breeder breeding only to improve the breed NOT because the puppy has blue eyes. The color of the parent’s eyes has NO bearing on the color of the puppy’s eyes. In fact, we get more blue eyed puppies from brown eyed parents. I prefer that you take an interest in the care & training I provide my puppies, their clean genetic makeup, and the fact that they are an excellent representation of the breed over what color their eyes may, or may not, be because that is out of my control. There are many breeders who will guarantee eye color but they are simply telling you what you want to hear just to make the sale. In your search you will notice that dog owners who breed only for blue eyes overlook other necessary qualities of the breed and many of the Australian Shepherds being bred solely for blue eyes have little or no genetic testing. I will agree blue eyes are beautiful but it really makes no sense to have a beautiful blue eyed dog that is plagued by Hereditary Cataracts, Collie Eye Anomaly, or Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration which causes Progressive Retinal Atrophy.